George Harrison, the Beatles lead guitarist who died in 2001, and his wife, Olivia, built an isolated sanctuary on Australia’s Hamilton Island in 1987. They planted the property with dense tropical vegetation. “George always had a major conflict between the trees and the views,” says Olivia Harrison. “Every few years I would persuade him to cut back some foliage to reclaim the views.”

The entrance gate.

The couple first visited the island for the Australian Grand Prix. “I wasn’t at all enthused,” Harrison remembers. “But one visit to the Whitsunday Islands opened up a continent entirely new to both of us.”

The living room of the main house features a peaked bamboo ceiling, a tree trunk the musician found on the island and a curved wall of windows. “It’s a great room when it’s pouring with rain.” Birdlife frequently spotted from the house includes swooping lorikeets, cockatiels and curlews.

Bamboo—“a favorite material,” says Harrison—clads the bar in the dining area, which is decorated with art from New Guinea. Sydney-based Pamela Mathieson Croci, working with Angus Leendertz, designed the interiors, using pieces from both Australia and England. Kravet sofa print.

In the master suite, a low, curving stone wall separates the sleeping and meditation areas, which look east toward the Coral Sea. The vibrant mix of patterns in the space includes a carpet with a Tibetan snow leopard print. Doors lead to a private garden, spa and shower.

The musician worked closely with landscape designer Malcolm Hunt on the gardens and pool area. “George handpicked the big boulders from around the island,” says Harrison.

The main guest hut has a loft accessed by a ladder.

The compound has three guest huts, at right, and the main house. “George sketched his ideas for Roger Parkin, the architect, and together they designed the house,” says Harrison. Waterfalls feed into the organically shaped pool. “We swam a lot in the natural ponds in Hawaii and tried to create that feeling.”